Connecting cap for air guns and the like



Dec. 23, 1952 G. J. PE NNO CONNECTING CAP FOR AIR GUNS AND THE LIKEFiled Feb. 6, 1948 FlG.-l

INVENTOR.

Glenn J; Penno ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 23, 1952 CONNECTING CAP FOR AIRGUNS AND'THE LIKE GlennJ. Penno,,Denver, Colo., assignor to'lornadoManufacturing Company, Inc. Denver,v 0010., a corporation of ColoradoApplication February 6, 1948, Serial'No. 6,795

'7 Claims.

This invention relates: to connecting caps for air guns. and the-like,andmoreparticularly-to a cap adapted to connect asand blast air gun,paint spray gun or the like, with a container which contains-material tobe supplied to the air: gun,.for discharge-therefrom, Sucha gun may beconstructed as disclosedin my copending application. Serial No, 779,433,filed October 13, 1947., now PatentxNo. 2,487,366.0iNovember 8.,1949,.and entitled..Sand;Blast'Gunfi while the material therefor.maybeany suitable abrasive sand or composition.

In sand blast guns, and alsogunsior. spraying paint andlthei-like;.theamaterial to be suppliedv to andrdischarged; from; the; gun, such.as an. abrasive. composition, paint, lacquer, varnish .or. the 1ike;.may besucked up into. the gun througha tubeextendinginto. thelowerportion oithe container; When thecontainer is empty,.or nearly.

empty sothat additional. material will not be supplied. readily-throughthe. tube to the gun,.it.

is. usually necessary for. refilling to. disconnect the-gun and thecontainer. container previously, in use. is. a. bottle or jar having, ascrew thread. at the; upper. end, while.

thegun may be. provided with an integral or. separate; cap having a.cooperating. screw thread, such as shown inmy copending applicationSerialNo. 779,433,,supra. However, unscrewing the container consumes anundue amount 01 time, and the screw threads also tendto become clogged.with: the; material. When a; connection which may; be;locked. andunlocked relatively rapidly. is-utilized, such as pins extending-fromthe. container. and adapted to cooperate with bayonet typeslots in thecap, or vice-.versa, an adequate. seal betweenv the cap and. the.container. is not provided, and the resultant loss of, suction tends to.become so great. that. the device: becomes. inoperative.

Among the. objects of this invention are to provide a novel'cap adaptedto connect anair gun or the like, with a container adapted to receivematerial'to be supplied'to the air gun; to provide sucha cap which maybeprovided' with a quickly detachable connection with the container;toprovidesuch a cap which insures an adequate sealing for the container,asto "prevent loss'of suction; to providesuch a cap-which isstructurally fitted to accommodate a tube extending into the-container;to provide such: a cap which produces an adequate sealwhen" aquick-acting connection of the pin and bayonet slot type is utilized; toprovidesuch a' cap' which maytake-one or'more'different forms; and toThe normal type of.

provide such a cap whichis relatively easy to manufacture and assemble,and which will withstand rough handling and usage.

Other objects and the novel features of this invention will becomeapparent from the dc? scription which follows, takenin connection withthe accompanying drawing, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a three-dimensional view of asand blast gun assembly,whichincludes-asand blast gun, a container, and aconnecting capconstructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlargedtside elevation of-a--por tion of the sand blastgun: and container, and the cap of this invention, certain parts beingbroken away and shown in verticallongitudinal section to illustrate moreclearly the interior construction;

Fig. 3 is atransverse section takenalong line 3-3 of Fig. 2'; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevation of the blockingconnection between' the cap and container.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2', asand blast gun G, which-may. besimilar in constructionto the sand blast gunof my copending applicationSerial No. 779,433,v supra, is connectedto acontainer or reservoir R bya cap C, constructed in accordance with this invention; The material incontainerRmay comprise an abrasive composition or mixture, while airunder suitable pressure may be suppliedthrough a hose IE] to a pas-'-sage ll which extends through handle I2 i-nto the body 13 of the gun,the flow of air through the passage being. controlledbya valveactuatedfrom above during continued use at a specific location.

As illustrated in Fig.- 2, the air flowing. through nozzle it produces ajet smaller than discharge tube Hi, and thereby'creates a suction eiiectat an orifice it in the side of tube It just ahead of nozzle it. orpulled up into discharge tube 15 through orifice 26, from an abrasivepassage 24 leading from a tube T, which extends into the lower portionof container R. The tube T may beattached to thebody of the gun, as byapress fit' The abrasive composition-is suckedwithin a suitable hole in adownwardly extending threaded boss 22, by which the gun is attached tocap C, or the tube T may be threaded into the boss. Or, if desired, thetube T may be attached centrally to the cap C, below the threads bywhich the gun is attached to the cap.

The cap C, which is constructed in accordance with this invention, maycomprise a body 24 having a rounded upper surface terminating centrallyin a threaded hole adapted to receive boss 22 of gun G. The cap body 24is provided with a circular, exterior depending flange 25, which fitsover the neck 26 of container R, and a circular, interior dependingflange 21, which forms a well for a coil spring 28, for a purposedescribed below. Exterior flange 25 may, as in Figs. 2 and 4, beprovided with a pair of oppositely disposed bayonet slots 29, adapted tocooperate with pins 30 to attach the cap to the container R'. Pins 39,of which there may be two, as shown, or any other desired number, aremounted on and extend laterally from neck 26 of container R.

The cap C includes sealing means, such as a circular disc 3| providedaround the underside of its periphery with a washer or gasket 32, as inFigs. 2 and 3. The gasket 32 is formed of suitable material, such asnatural or synthetic rubber, and is adapted to engage the circular upperedge of the neck 26 of container R. The sealing disc 3| is provided witha central hole 33 through which tube T extends, thereby permittingrelative movement of the sealing disc 3| upwardly and downwardly on thetube T.

As will be evident, when the container R. is locked and unlocked fromcap C, the container must necessarily move into the cap, i. e.,relatively axially, for the connecting pins 30 to clear the inside edgesof the bayonet slots 29, but the sealing disc 3| is adapted to move withthe container during such relative axial movement.

The sealing disc 3| is pressed downwardly against the upper edge ofcontainer R. by coil spring 28, which surrounds tube T and the upper endof which may abut against the lower end of boss 22 of gun G. Spring 28is received in the well formed by an inner flange 21 of cap body 24, asindicated previously. If desired, a suitable inwardly extending flangeor boss may be provided, against which the upper end of spring 28 mayabut. When the container R. is unlocked and removed from cap C, as forrefilling purposes, the sealing disc 31 is prevented from dropping outof the cap by suitable restraining means, such as a horseshoe washer 35adapted to be inserted in an annular slot 36 formed in tube T.Preferably, the washer 35 is of a spring clip type which is spreadduring insertion in slot 36, and then closes slightly, so that thewasher cannot be removed from the slot except by direct lateral pressureexerted thereon.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the connecting cap of thisinvention fulfills to a marked degree the reguirements and objectshereinbefore set forth. The sealin disc 3 l, which is movable axiallyduring locking and unlocking of the cap and container, insures that theupper end of the container will be adequately sealed. The sealing disc3| is also disposed in a relatively protected position, being enclosedby the exterior flange 25 of the cap. None of the parts are at allcomplicated, and assembly of the cap is relatively simple. The gun G ispreferably first attached to the cap, the tube T thus thereby extendingthrough the cap. The coil spring 28 may then be dropped over the tube,followed by the sealing disc 3|. Pressure on the sealing disc willcompress the spring 28, whereupon the washer 35 may be inserted inplace. Also, if the gasket 32 should become worn, the sealing disc 3| isreadily replaced. The pin and bayonet slot connection between the capand container is readily locked and unlocked, the operator therebysaving much time during refilling.

Although a specific embodiment of this invention has been described andillustrated, and variations in certain of the parts described, it willbe understood that numerous other variations may be utilized. Forinstance, relatively steep or fast acting screw threads may besubstituted for the pin and bayonet slot connection between the cap andcontainer; the cap may be utilized to connect a paint, varnish orsimilar liquid container with a spray gun operating on a suctionprinciple, the sand blast gun herein described being illustrative only;the cap may be formed integrally with the body of th gun; resilientmeans other than a coil spring may be utilized for pressing the sealingdisc against the upper edge of the container; and restraining meansother than the washer shown may be utilized in restraining or preventingdownward movement of the sealing disc beyond a predetermined extent.

It will, therefore, be understood that more than one embodiment of thisinvention may exist, and various changes may be made in suchembodiments, without departin from the spirit and scope of thisinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A cap adapted to connect an air gun or the like with a container formaterial to be supplied to said air gun, comprising a tube extendinginto said container; a cap body adapted to be connected to said air gun;an inter-locking connection between said cap body and said container,such connection producing relative axial movement between said cap bodyand container during locking and unlocking; a sealing disc mounted formovement along said tube axially thereof and disposed transverselythereto, said disc being adapted to engage the upper edge of saidcontainer; and a spring surrounding said tube above said disc andbearing downwardly thereagainst, for maintaining said sealing disc inengagement with said container edge while permitting axial movement ofsaid disc during locking and unlocking.

2. A cap adapted to connect an air gun or the like with a container formaterial to be supplied to said air gun, comprising a tube extendinginto said container; a cap body adapted to be connected to said air gunand to substantially completely enclose the end of said container whenconnected thereto; an inter-locking connection between said cap body andsaid container, such connection producing relative axial movementbetween said cap body and container during locking and unlocking; asealing disc mounted within said cap body for movement along said tubeaxially thereof and disposed transversely thereto, said disc beingprovided with a sealing washer adapted to engage the upper edge of saidcontainer; and a spring, surrounding said tube above said disc andbearing downwardly thereagainst, for maintaining said sealing washer inengagement with said container edge while permitting axial movement ofsaid disc during looking and unlocking.

3. A cap adapted to connect an air gun or the like with a container formaterial to be supplied to said air gun, comprising a tube extendinginto said container; a cap body adapted to be connected to said air gun;an inter-locking connection between said cap body and said container,such connection producing relative axial movement between said cap bodyand container during locking and unlocking; a sealing disc mounted formovement along said tube axially thereof and disposed transverselythereto, said disc being adapted to engage the upper edge of saidcontainer; a spring, surrounding said tube above said disc and bearingdownwardly thereagainst, for maintaining said sealing disc in engagementwith said container edge while permitting axial movement of said discduring locking and unlocking; and locking means associated with saidtube for restraining downward movement of said disc upon removal of saidcontainer.

4. A cap adapted to connect an air gun or the like with a container formaterial to be supplied to said air gun, as defined in claim 3, whereinsaid locking means comprises a removable washer and said tube isprovided with a slot to receive said washer.

5. A cap adapted to connect an air gun or the like with a container formaterial to be supplied to said air gun, comprising a tube extendinginto said container; a cap body adapted to be connected to said air gun,said gun having a boss and said. cap body having an aperture adapted toreceive said boss, said tube extending from said boss through saidaperture; an inter-locking connection between said cap body and saidcontainer, such connection producing relative axial movement betweensaid cap bod; and container during locking and unlocking; a sealing discmounted for axial movement along said tube and disposed transverselythereto, said disc being adapted to engage the upper edge of saidcontainer; and a spring, surrounding said tube above said disc andbearing at its upper end against said boss within a well formed by saidaperture and at its lower end against said disc, for maintaining saidsealing disc in engagement with said container edge while permittingaxial movement of said disc during locking and unlocking.

6. A cap adapted to connect an air gun or the like and a containeradapted to receive material to be supplied to said air gun, comprising atube extending into said container; a cap body adapted to be connectedto said air gun, said cap body having an exterior, downwardly extendingflange adapted to surround the upper end of said container, a centralthreaded aperture, and an interior flange extending downwardly from saidaperture, said gun having a depending threaded boss adapted to bereceived in said aperture, and said tube extending downwardly from saidboss and through said aperture; an inter-locking connection between saidcap body and said container, such connection producing relative axialmovement between said cap body and container during locking andunlocking, such connection including spaced bayonet-type slots in saidexterior flange and correspondingly spaced pins extending from saidcontainer adjacent the upper end thereof; a sealing disc mounted formovement along said tube axially thereof and disposed transverselythereto, said disc having a central aperture through which said tubeextends and a peripheral washer adapted to engage the upper edge of saidcontainer; a spring, surrounding said tube above said disc and receivedin a well formed by said interior flange, the upper end of said springbearing against said boss and the lower end of said spring bearingagainst said disc, for maintaining said sealing washer in engagementwith said container edge while permitting axial movement of said discduring locking and unlocking; and a horseshoe type locking washer forrestraining further downward movement of said disc upon removal of saidcontainer, said tube having an annular slot adapted to receive saidlocking Washer.

7. A cap adapted to connect an air gun or the like with a container formaterial to be supplied by suction to said air gun, comprising a tubeextending into said container; a cap body adapted to be connected tosaid gun and to said container; and sealing means for said container andmounted on said cap body for axial movement relative to said tube andcap body, said sealing means being constructed so that said tube extendstherethrough.

GLENN J. PENNO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,802,141 Downs Apr. 21, 19311,837,844 Wyzenbeek Dec. 22, 1931 1,887,700 Stevens Nov. 15, 19322,164,450 Eshbaugh et al. July 4, 1939 2,178,964 Hulse Nov, 7, 19392,198,125 Nelson Apr. 23, 1940 2,263,842 Cross Nov, 25, 1941 2,494,359Roth Jan. 10, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 419,886 GermanyOct. 13, 1925 373,116 France Sept. 25, 1907

